Bathtime adventures—starring a boy, a teddy and a paper boat.
Sailing in a boat folded from a map of the author’s native Tasmania, Milo and his plush sidekick, Millie, brave huge waves, big frogs, a whale, floating blocks and at last a great whirlpool. Though all of this happens before the tub appears in the simple, white-backgrounded watercolors, an initial encounter with a giant rubber ducky should clue even toddlers in to the nature of Milo’s “ocean.” With the turn of a page, the boat vanishes (Robaard provides step diagrams for folding a new one at the end) as boy and magically dried-off bear are transported from bathroom into bed: “Good night.” Reflecting the sparely detailed art, Milo’s commentary runs to just a phrase or sentence fragment per spread: “We sailed past a busy city… / which was guarded by fearsome frogs.” (Though large, the frogs do not look particularly ferocious, and a windup key is clearly visible protruding from the belly of one of them.)
An elemental origami odyssey. (Picture book. 2-4)